Understanding the Role of Race and Procedural Justice on the Support for Police Body-Worn Cameras and Reporting Crime

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/07340168211022794
• Published date: 01 March 2023
• Date: 01 March 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Understanding the Role of

Race and Procedural Justice

on the Support for Police

Body-Worn Cameras and

Reporting Crime

Timothy Ikenna Lawrence

1

, Ariel Mcfield

1

, and Kamilah Freeman

1

Abstract

Body-worn cameras (BWCs) among police officers have garnered mixed support among community

members. On the one hand, proponents of BWCs contend that there are benefits of BWCs such as

reduction of complaints, increase legitimacy, decrease unlawful shootings, and increase transpar-

ency. On the other, certain community members maintain less support for BWCs, citing that while

police officers wear BWCs, it violates police–citizen interaction privacy. Although there is mixed

support for BWCs among community members, little is known as to whether race plays a role in

support for BWCs and whether confidence in the police relates to reporting crime/procedural

justice, leading to support for BWCs. The current study used two mediation moderation analyses to

examine whether race moderated the relationship between confidence in the police and reporting

crime/procedural justice, leading to support for BWCs while controlling for police legitimacy and

effectiveness. The first model suggests that race moderated the relationship between confidence in

the police and reporting crime but not the relationship between reporting crime and support for

BWCs. The second model revealed that race did not moderate the relationship between confidence

in the police and procedural justice. Also, race did not moderate the relationship between proce-

dural justice and support for BWCs. Implications are discussed.

Keywords

police processes, law enforcement/security, crime policy, courts/law, crime prevention, race and

crime/justice, other, community-based corrections, corrections

In 2014, an African American male, Michael Brown, was killed by a White Police Officer, Darren

Wilson. Shortly after the incident, the public’s outrage resulted in riots in which properties were

destroyed, which also motivated the Black Lives Matter Movement (Culhane et al., 2016; Maguire

1

Prairie View A&M University, TX, USA

Corresponding Author:

Timothy Ikenna Lawrence, Prairie View A&M University, 100 University Dr., Prairie View, TX 77446, USA.

Email: tlawrence3@pvamu.edu

Criminal Justice Review

ª2021 Georgia State University

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DOI: 10.1177/07340168211022794

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2023, Vol. 48(1) 48–68

et al., 2017). As a consequence of these events, certain community members and police officers were

the victims of violence (Nix et al., 2017; Nix et al., 2018; Weitzer, 2015). To answer the public’s

disorder, the victims’ families, community activists, and politicians suggested using body-worn

cameras (BWCs) to increase legitimacy, transparency, and accountability for police departments

(Culhane et al., 2016; Smykla et al., 2016).

Many law enforcement agencies have implemented the use of BWCs in their daily interactions

with the public (Crow et al., 2017; Jennings et al., 2017; Tregle et al., 2020). Supporters of BWCs

contend that it has decreased police use of deadly force and reduced illegitimate complaints (Ariel

et al., 2015; Demir et al., 2020; Jennings et al., 2015). Further, community members suggested that

their communities are safer when police officers use BWCs (Gaub et al., 2016). BWCs have a

deterrent effect on violent behavior toward police officers. For example, during a routine traffic stop,

the motorist is less likely to be violent against an officer if the person is aware of the officers’ BWCs

(Ariel et al., 2018). Another study found that officers with BWCs are often proactive when inter-

acting with citizens and less likely to be intrusive in their investigative tactics (Ready & Young,

2015). In general, a survey of community members indicated that 80%of the public endorsed the use

of BWCs (Sousa et al., 2015) and 66%of the population suggested that BWCs would strengthen

police–citizen interactions (Sousa et al., 2018). As the public often maintains positive attitudes

toward BWCs, certain police officers are also supportive of BWCs. Prior studies found that police

officers supported BWCs because they perceived that it protected them from illegitimate complaints

(Goetschel & Peha, 2017; Owens & Finn, 2018; Pelfrey & Keener, 2016). Officers who wear BWCs

often received fewer complaints than officers who did not (Ariel et al., 2017; Braga et al., 2018), and

it helped reduce police and citizen violence (Gaub & White, 2020).

Despite the support for the use of BWCs, some individuals maintain less support for BWCs for

various reasons, such as concerns about citizens’ privacy while interacting with police officers

(Smykla et al., 2016). Certain individuals contend that most police departments do not use their

body cameras when there is apparent police misconduct; therefore, it is ineffective in providing

transparency (Goetschel & Peha, 2017). As certain community mem bers are less supportive of

BWCs, several studies have found contrasting or null effects of BWCs. For example, when police

officers use discretion about when to turn the camera on and off, the use of excessive police force

increased (Ariel et al., 2016). Similarly, another study found that BWCs did not influence effective

policing and were less influential in deterring violent behavior (Henstock & Ariel, 2017).

Although there are contradictory views and empirical support for BWCs, limited articles have

examined whether the support for BWCs is related to racial differences. The examination of racial

differences is important due to African Americans and Caucasians maintaining differing attitudes

toward police officers (Chaney & Robertson, 2013; B. W. Smith & Holms, 2003). These differing

attitudes could play a role in support for BWCs. One study found that while examining strategies to

improve police interactions with African Americans, eight of the 10 African Americans supported

BWCs (Grahma et al., 2019). Despite this, the author acknowledged the limitations of this result and

stated that participants were overall supportive of other reformative practices, which were not only

specific to attitudes toward BWCs. Another study found that Caucasians are often more supportive

of BWCs than African Americans (Ray et al., 2017; Sousa et al., 2018). While citing cultural and

community differences, prior literature suggests that race plays a complex role in police practices

reform, which warrants more empirical evidence (Crow et al., 2017). In line with this suggestion, it

is possible that support for BWCs is weakened or strengthened by race.

Although race may play a role in the support for BWCs, the degree to which individuals have

confidence in the police and perceive police officers to be legitimat e, effective, and fair when

interacting with the public could also play a role in the support for BWCs. For example, community

member’s perceptions of fairness and legitimacy directly increased support for BWCs (McCluskey

et al., 2019). While considering this perspective, this study aims to examine factors that are

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